http://t.co/XEpZnr7C #kashgari
Malaysia deports Saudi blogger wanted for Prophet Mohammad tweets
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia deported a Saudi Arabian blogger on Sunday, police said, despite fears voiced by human rights groups that he could face execution in his home country over Twitter comments he made that were deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad.
Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old columnist, sparked outrage in the oil-rich kingdom with comments posted on the Prophet’s birthday a week ago that led some Islamic clerics to call for him to face the death penalty.
Kashgari fled the country, but was arrested by police in majority-Muslim Malaysia on Thursday as he transited through Kuala Lumpur international airport.
“The Saudi writer was repatriated to his home country this Sunday morning,” a police spokesman told Reuters. “This is an internal Saudi matter that we cannot comment on.”
Malaysia has a close affinity with many Middle Eastern nations through their shared religion. The Southeast Asian nation is also a U.S. ally and a leading global voice for moderate Islam, meaning that the decision to extradite Kashgari is certain to be controversial.
“Saudi clerics have already made up their mind that Kashgari is an apostate who must face punishment,” Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Friday.
“The Malaysian government should not be complicit in sealing Kashgari’s fate by sending him back.”
Malaysia deports Saudi blogger wanted for Prophet Mohammad
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia deported a Saudi Arabian blogger on Sunday, police said, despite fears voiced by human rights groups that he could face execution in his home country over Twitter comments he made that were deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad.
Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old columnist, sparked outrage in the oil-rich kingdom with comments posted on the Prophet’s birthday a week ago that led some Islamic clerics to call for him to face the death penalty.
Kashgari fled the country, but was arrested by police in majority-Muslim Malaysia on Thursday as he transited through Kuala Lumpur international airport.
“The Saudi writer was repatriated to his home country this Sunday morning,” a police spokesman told Reuters. “This is an internal Saudi matter that we cannot comment on.”
Malaysia has a close affinity with many Middle Eastern nations through their shared religion. The Southeast Asian nation is also a U.S. ally and a leading global voice for moderate Islam, meaning that the decision to extradite Kashgari is certain to be controversial.
“Saudi clerics have already made up their mind that Kashgari is an apostate who must face punishment,” Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Friday.
“The Malaysian government should not be complicit in sealing Kashgari’s fate by sending him back.”
Malaysia deports Saudi blogger behind Prophet Mohammad tweets
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia deported a Saudi Arabian blogger on Sunday, police said, despite fears voiced by human rights groups that he could face execution in his home country over Twitter comments he made that were deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad.
Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old columnist, sparked outrage in the oil-rich kingdom with comments posted on the Prophet’s birthday a week ago that led some Islamic clerics to call for him to face the death penalty.
Kashgari fled the country, but was arrested by police in majority-Muslim Malaysia on Thursday as he transited through Kuala Lumpur international airport.
“The Saudi writer was repatriated to his home country this Sunday morning,” a police spokesman told Reuters. “This is an internal Saudi matter that we cannot comment on.”
Malaysia has a close affinity with many Middle Eastern nations through their shared religion. The Southeast Asian nation is also a U.S. ally and a leading global voice for moderate Islam, meaning that the decision to extradite Kashgari is certain to be controversial.
“Saudi clerics have already made up their mind that Kashgari is an apostate who must face punishment,” Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Friday.
“The Malaysian government should not be complicit in sealing Kashgari’s fate by sending him back.”
Malaysia arrests fugitive Saudi blogger over his Prophet Mohammad tweets
Malaysian police have arrested a Saudi Arabian columnist who fled his country after making comments on Twitter deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad, prompting a surge of online outrage and calls for his execution. “It is confirmed that Malaysian police have detained the Saudi writer. This arrest was part of an Interpol operation which the Malaysian police were a part of,” a police spokesman told Reuters on Friday.
He gave no further details and would not comment on whether the writer, Hamza Kashgari, would be extradited to Saudi Arabia, where some Islamic clerics have called for him to be put to death for his comments.
Malaysia is a majority Muslim country with a close affinity with many Middle Eastern nations through their shared religion. The Southeast Asian nation is also a U.S. ally and a leading global voice for moderate Islam, meaning that any decision to extradite Kashgari certain to be controversial. Blasphemy is a crime punishable by execution under oil-rich Saudi Arabia’s strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. It is not a capital crime in Malaysia.
The 23-year-old Kashgari reportedly posted the comments on his Twitter feed to mark the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday on Saturday, drawing thousands of outraged comments on Twitter and other social networking sites.
Reuters could not verify Kashgari’s comments because he later deleted them, but media reported that one them reflected his contradictory views of the Prophet.
Kashgari later said in an interview that he was being made a “scapegoat for a larger conflict” over his comments. “I view my actions as part of a process toward freedom,” Kashgari was quoted as saying in the interview with the Daily Beast website. “I was demanding my right to practice the most basic human rights – freedom of expression and thought – so nothing was done in vain.”
via Malaysia arrests Saudi blogger over Prophet Mohammad tweets | Reuters.
Perhaps not the wisest choice of country to flee to when facing Islamic blasphemy charges http://t.co/9YLVLGCu #Saudi #Kashgari
Average cost of my bland lunch in Rio – about 13usd; cost of a delicious, spicy lunch in KL – 2 to 4usd. Sort your food out Brazil!
Behold, my debut bylined story from Malaysia http://t.co/pCoGLJsS #Malaysia #Anwar
Analysis: Malaysia’s opposition plots unlikely path to power
DENGKIL, Malaysia (Reuters) – Anwar Ibrahim is free and he knows how to work a crowd.
Wading into a throng of supporters at a rally near the capital Kuala Lumpur last week, the veteran Malaysian opposition leader was relishing his unexpected freedom after being acquitted on sodomy charges that could have ended his career.
Microphone in hand, he drew loud laughs and cheers as he wisecracked about government’s “cronyism” and what he said were its attempts to label him a homosexual.
The high court acquittal in January of the opposition’s only true unifying figure has given the three-party alliance a formidable campaigner in national elections expected within months, adding to its momentum after historic gains in 2008 elections.
Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to call the election by June while economic growth remains relatively strong, well before his mandate ends in March 2013.
Halijah Ismael, a middle-aged woman watching from her stall selling traditional medicine, said it was time to give Anwar a chance at governing after 55 years of unbroken rule by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and its allies.
“Enough is enough,” said Halijah, who said she used to be active in a local UMNO political group before growing disillusioned.
Malaysia’s opposition plots unlikely path to power
DENGKIL, Malaysia (Reuters) – Anwar Ibrahim is free and he knows how to work a crowd.
Wading into a throng of supporters at a rally near the capital Kuala Lumpur last week, the veteran Malaysian opposition leader was relishing his unexpected freedom after being acquitted on sodomy charges that could have ended his career.
Microphone in hand, he drew loud laughs and cheers as he wisecracked about government’s “cronyism” and what he said were its attempts to label him a homosexual.
The high court acquittal in January of the opposition’s only true unifying figure has given the three-party alliance a formidable campaigner in national elections expected within months, adding to its momentum after historic gains in 2008 elections.
Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to call the election by June while economic growth remains relatively strong, well before his mandate ends in March 2013.
Halijah Ismael, a middle-aged woman watching from her stall selling traditional medicine, said it was time to give Anwar a chance at governing after 55 years of unbroken rule by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and its allies.
“Enough is enough,” said Halijah, who said she used to be active in a local UMNO political group before growing disillusioned.
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